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First Solar to Acquire skytron-energy - Analyst Blog

First Solar, Inc.
(
FSLR
) has reached an agreement to buy skytron-energy, a subsidiary of
AEG Power Solutions. This acquisition is a strategic step by the
company to capitalize on the growing opportunities in the European
solar market.

skytron-energy, a operations and maintenance company in Germany,
has successfully installed monitoring and control systems in more
than 600 plants across Europe. The capacity of the plants stands at
an impressive 5 gigawatts (GW).

This is expected to expand First Solar's global O&M portfolio
by over two-fold. Per the agreement, skytron-energy will operate as
a subsidiary of First Solar while retaining its own brand identity.
However, the financial details pertaining to the deal were kept
under wraps.

We expect this deal to benefit both the companies significantly.
First Solar will be able to enhance its global O&M offerings
through skytron's high-quality O&M services and data monitoring
technology. On the other hand, skytron could be able to take
advantage of First Solar's strong sales, service network and
installed base. Thus, this merger will provide innovative and
consistent solutions along with substantial technological knowledge
to solar power plant owners.

As per a report by GTM Research, the O&M market size in Europe
is expected to improve to 35 GW in 2017 from 25 GW in 2013. This
latest buy will thereby help First Solar to tap into the increased
demand in the European market.

The global demand for O&M services is on the rise primarily on
the back of higher electricity production from solar energy. To
benefit from this improved demand, solar companies like First Solar
and
Canadian Solar Inc.
(
CSIQ
) among others are striving to improve their turnkey solar
offerings.

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